The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1887-04-20

( tiiai Mcdowell must cross 20 Frederieks-
burg in order to reinforce o. ia front Of
Richmond To burn them was to cut
OF communication with Mcdowell But
the order was formal in ia terms. Pos
sibly Mcclellan was by no means 10th to
delay the coming up OF a rival who seem
ed about to appear at the last minute and
might lay claim to success which we alone
had laboriously prepared. What mortal
man could divest himself entirely Of sneh
fselings2 However this may have been,
the two bridges were burned according
10 orders on the 27th Of the month In
confding the duty of their destruction
10 Fitz John Porter. Mcclellan secured to
thai officer the opportunity fora brilliant
success ~ Hanover Courihou~e.
ruE BAIrLE oF FAIR OAKS.
Three davs after We fought very uneX-
l,ectedlv the battle Of Fair Oaks For
twenty-four hour without intermission
both armies were dcluged with rain. The
thunder roared increasingly and eight Of
our men were killed by lightning The
roads became soaked and impossible for
either wagons or horses. Torrents of
muddy water ran through the narrow
valleys into the Chickahominy, which
rose rapidly The few natives who had
remained with us predicted an inunda-.
ton during the night General McClei-
Ian. whose health had been sadly shaken
by his typhoid illness, could not with
stand the rapid and great changes Of tenn
perature nor the tatigue- Of body and
mind which the situation imposed. Our
camps were rayaged by dvsentery. He
himself wa. attacked by this malady.
which depletes the strongest physiques,
but fought 20 conceal his weakness and
suherings Toward midday on the 3lst,
the wind blowing "a gale and bowling
through the trees We heard noise that
WAS not thunder. We listened attentive
lv. Il was the roar of cannon. Then
came the rattle Of musketry. and the pal
lid smoke the wind blew up from the
woodland left US no longer ia suspense.
The enemy was vigorously pushing our
right wing posted on the. other side ofihc
Chickahominy Ina few hours the whole
valley would be inundated and our army
hopelrssly cut in two. We supposed.
uaturallv that Johnston had counted on
this inundatiou in choosing the day and
method of his attack The situation was
more than serious Every one became
lost in conjecture II seemed incomprc-
hen-ible, in spite Of realizing sense Of
the dire confusion that rei-ns on the bat
tle-feld. that for three hours nothing
should have been heard from our left
wing. Toreach that part Of our array ii
was necessary TO malsca very wide detour
and to croos the river at Bottom Bridge,
the fords being elsewhere impossible.
TeIegraphiccom was not TO be
depended on. the damage done TO the
lines By the storm had constantly To be
repaired.
Mcclellan mounted his horse and rode
rapidly 10 the banks OF the Chickahom-
iny. in the hope of learning something Of
what WAS going on, but disappointed, ne
soon returned, and more anxious than
ever tobe as near as possible 20 the tele-
graph He edespatched his aides-de-camp
ia all directions 1 myself went to Pro-
irS-or Low. requesting him to send me mp
in balloon that I might personally re-
c1unoitre the enemy, position. But Low
refused 20 permit an ascent in such "A
wind At last hurried dispatches from
Heintzelmann brought a confused and
alarming account of the beginning of the
battle These dispatches cast "a dcplora-
ble and unmerited slur on Casey troops.
who. surprised by q greatly superior force.
had in reality valiantly defended them
selves. should here notice an incident
that. earlier in the day, would have warm
ed us of the danger that threatened our
army. In the midst OF a strong escort of
cavalry arrived an aide-le-anny of ileint-
zelmann. bringing in a handsome young
Confederate officer who WAS presented to
us al, Lieutenant Washington in no way,
I believe connected with the Father Of
His Country" though he bore the name
He was an aide Of Johnston, and, having
lost his way during the forenoon, had
been captured 10y some of our outposts on
the left. There were no dispatches about
him. But from thi. it may be inferred
that he must have carried verbal orders
of an important character, since they had
not been committed to paper, and his
/ presence near our lines in the morning
should have been a sufficient hint TO Us.
Unfortunately. at the left NO importance
was attached 10 the capture, and the GeE-
sral was not promptly informed of the
fact Washington waSa graduate OF West
Point. and consequently comrade Of
many ui our officers, who Intentionally
showeIad him with all sorts OF attentions.
But in vain: His mind could not be di-
ycrted from the battle then raging, TO ev-
erv sound of which he listened intcntly
a> it drew ~ensibly nearer to us. He
alone knew the enemy ssecret He knew
where the Confederate troops We're mass
eel in order TO crush as hut in spite Of
his evident emotion NOT a look-not a
word not "a gesture betrayed him.
PmiirFpE. CoNrE rF rtEi>.
fhafsae F H.. F,o.c,, 1856
Farmer Wade Encounters a
Liar.